Specialist Make-up degree students bring vampires and ghosts to life this half-term

"Is that real or make-up?"

This October half term, our Specialist Make-up Design students have been taking a trip into the mystifying world of 19th-century Halloween at SS Great Britain, as part of the attractions 'spooktacular' line-up of activities. In partnership with the historic attraction, students have been providing a range of specialist character make-up demonstrations, recreating characters from Victorian Gothic literature, such as Frankenstein’s monster and scream-worthy Vampires. 

Ahead of the event and to prepare for their deadly character looks, students have been studying various texts and novels from the era to ensure they pay homage to the spine-tingling period and all its traditions.

"It is a great opportunity for visitors to one of Bristol's main attractions, to observe our talented students bringing these characters to life and learn more about our specialist skills and methods. The term Specialist Make-up encompasses those elements of the screen industry using media make-up and hairstyling techniques, along with specialist make-up effects such as prosthetics".
_{Ruth Mitchell, Creative Industries Subject Area Lead}

‍

‍

Aboard the iconic ship and see what these Gothic characters tell us about Victorian life and the process behind the SFX transformation as our student make-up artists bring these terrifying monsters to life. If you're not too scared by our students realistic make-up effects, the sight and sounds of Brunel's historic ship have been heightened with some gruesome additions and haunting stories. You might want to keep your wits about as you encounter bloody butchers, scurrying rats and ghastly smells aboard.

‍